Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 3
Dhruva-loka as the Cosmic Pivot and the Śiśumāra-cakra
Viṣṇu’s Astral Form
यथा मेढीस्तम्भ आक्रमणपशव: संयोजितास्त्रिभिस्त्रिभि: सवनैर्यथास्थानं मण्डलानि चरन्त्येवं भगणा ग्रहादय एतस्मिन्नन्तर्बहिर्योगेन कालचक्र आयोजिता ध्रुवमेवावलम्ब्य वायुनोदीर्यमाणा आकल्पान्तं परिचङ्क्रमन्ति नभसि यथा मेघा: श्येनादयो वायुवशा: कर्मसारथय: परिवर्तन्ते एवं ज्योतिर्गणा: प्रकृतिपुरुषसंयोगानुगृहीता: कर्मनिर्मितगतयो भुवि न पतन्ति ॥ ३ ॥
yathā meḍhīstambha ākramaṇa-paśavaḥ saṁyojitās tribhis tribhiḥ savanair yathā-sthānaṁ maṇḍalāni caranty evaṁ bhagaṇā grahādaya etasminn antar-bahir-yogena kāla-cakra āyojitā dhruvam evāvalambya vāyunodīryamāṇā ākalpāntaṁ paricaṅ kramanti nabhasi yathā meghāḥ śyenādayo vāyu-vaśāḥ karma-sārathayaḥ parivartante evaṁ jyotirgaṇāḥ prakṛti-puruṣa-saṁyogānugṛhītāḥ karma-nirmita-gatayo bhuvi na patanti.
De même que, pour battre le riz, on attelle des bœufs à un poteau central et qu’ils tournent chacun dans son cercle—l’un près du poteau, l’autre au milieu, le troisième à l’extérieur—ainsi les planètes et les centaines de milliers d’étoiles gravitent dans leurs orbites, certaines plus hautes, d’autres plus basses, en s’appuyant sur Dhruvaloka, la planète de Dhruva. Fixés par le Bhagavān à la machine de la nature matérielle selon le fruit de leurs actes, et poussés par le vent, ils continueront jusqu’à la fin de la création. Ils flottent dans l’immense ciel comme des nuages lourds d’eau, ou comme les grands aigles śyena qui, par les résultats d’actions passées, volent très haut sans tomber sur la terre.
According to the description of this verse, the hundreds and thousands of stars and the great planets such as the sun, the moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter are not clustered together because of the law of gravity or any similar idea of the modern scientists. These planets and stars are all servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda or Kṛṣṇa, and according to His order they sit in their chariots and travel in their respective orbits. The orbits in which they move are compared to machines given by material nature to the operating deities of the stars and planets, who carry out the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by revolving around Dhruvaloka, which is occupied by the great devotee Mahārāja Dhruva. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.52) as follows:
FAQs
This verse explains that planets, stars, and constellations move in fixed circular paths because they are arranged and regulated by the wheel of time, with their motion sustained and propelled according to cosmic laws.
He presents Dhruva (the Pole Star) as the stable support-point around which the luminaries are understood to revolve, emphasizing order, regulation, and divine arrangement in the cosmos.
Just as celestial bodies follow courses shaped by karma under higher regulation, a devotee learns to respect divine order, act responsibly, and seek shelter in the Supreme—cultivating steadiness like Dhruva amid life’s movements.